The Cape Dory Board

Hi all, Been sailing and loving my new-to-me CD25D. Few issues with original components that I'm not sure how to resolve. Here's a video of my head seacock . It leaks when open, and can't be tightened any futher. Here's a video of my furler line guard . The top of the opening for the line rubs again...

I don't know the answer to your question, but as fellow new 25D owner I'm eager to hear about your experiences. Thanks!

The paint on an engine first starts to peel off on the impeller pump housing. That might be another place to look to see if the issue is real.

After running several times over the past month, the engine is great! It starts almost instantly and runs nicely. The only weird issue is that it only reaches 2500 RPMs at full throttle. However, at 2500 RPMs (and pulling a dinghy) I can get it up to 6 knots of speed on flat water. That seems odd to...

I've been checking on the boat once a week since I first posted. At this point, the leak has stopped. Some gradoo from the marina appears to have clogged it. Prior to that, the first bilge pump was still working great. It hasn't discharged the battery a noticable amount, and the solar panel is worki...

Well, not having a choice I guess I get to be an experiment. Sleeping onboard last night I noticed that the pump runs pretty consistently for about 5 seconds every 20 minutes. I can't see the pump manufacturer or part number, but I'll add a second pump either today (if it's arrived) or next week. St...

That's not a slow leak. A few drops per hour or minute maybe but this sounds like something worth a haul out. Can you do a short haul? Well that's a bummer. Realistically, I can't do a haul-out till July. I live too far away and I can't spare the time it would take to get it to a crane. Is there a ...

Ordered some stainless thumb screws. Thanks!

The screws were definitely bronze-colored, and seemed to deform more easily than steel. I think certain grades of steel are slightly bronze-colored, so it's possible that's what I have.

On my larger boats I always installed two electric bilge pumps, a smaller one at the bottom of the bilge that handles "nuisance" drips and a larger one higher up in the bilge but still below the floorboards that kicks in if there is a bigger leak or if the nuisance pump fails. Each pump h...

I've been looking at Knurled Head thumb screws at McMaster-Carr, and the one challenge is that don't have bronze/brass M4-8 screws like the ones on the engine. Do they really need to be bronze/brass, or would stainless or plastic work for the impeller cover? Does anyone know if the screws area actua...

I put the boat in the water for the first time! I had to destroy the table tube to get it out of the base, and in doing so I inadvertently destroyed that portion of the bronze liner too. I probably could have saved it if I'd understood how it all fit together, but I couldn't see into that part of th...

Thanks Jerry! I don't think I'll have time to rebuild the seacock again this week, but would love to try in the fall. I'll try the table base with my chain wrench on Thursday night or Friday morning (lift-in Friday), so if you're interested in stopping by it would be great to see you! Good tip Keith...

Thanks keneasley for the link! I'll try that process next time I service them. Never heard of grinding or lapping compound, and didn't realize that there was a better grease. Because the boat is going in the water Friday and it's 90 minutes away (and because I can close it if I really have to), I th...

On my new CD 25D, I encountered two issues today: My hardest-to-reach seacock, a 1.5" which feeds the port cockpit train, has become a problem. I spent 4 hours today disassembling, cleaning, greasing, and re-assembling it. After all that, I can only just barely move it with my full strength. I ...

I'm looking for a compression tester for a Yanmar 1GM. I see a bunch of compression testers on Amazon with many fittings, but I'm not sure if any of them will fit. KACE Tractors sells them, but is out of stock for the next 3 weeks. Does anyone know of one that works, or can tell the size fitting I n...